Game 4 of the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs is tonight at 7 p.m. ET at Canadian Tire Centre. For the Senators, their backs are against the wall.
Simon Benoit's overtime winner in Game 3 in Ottawa gave the Maple Leafs a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Senators are one way away from their 2024-25 season coming to a complete end.
Trailing 0-3 in a playoff series isn't easy to overcome. Only four teams in NHL history have ever came back to win a series after trailing 0-3. As Game 4 is tonight, some may have wondered what is the closest the Senators have came to completing the reverse sweep.
Senators have forced a Game 6 when trailing 0-3 in the past, but not a Game 7
The Senators have found themselves in an 0-3 hole four times. Three of the four times the Senators were swept, but the closest the Senators came to completing the 0-3 comeback was in 2015.
It was the first round of the 2015 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens. After losing the first three games of the series, the Senators were able to win the next two games of the series.
Game 4 was a 1-0 shutout win at home to force a Game 5. Then, the Senators won Game 5 in Montreal 5-1 to force a Game 6 back in Ottawa. Momentum was on Ottawa's side heading back home, but the Canadiens then shutout the Senators 2-0 in Game 6 to eliminate them.
2015's team was highlighted by goaltender Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond. Today, the 2025 team is featured with core players that have stuck with the Senators for years with goaltender Linus Ullmark in between the pipes.
While the series does show the Senators are trailing the Maple Leafs 0-3 in the series, the series is closer than some people think. The past two games have ended in overtime. Despite playoff inexperience, the Senators have showed fight against the Maple Leafs. The series could be much different if the Senators had won one or both of the games in overtime.
After Game 3's loss, the captain is still providing a positive mindset. Brady Tkachuk mentioned the 2004 Boston Red Sox completing the 0-3 series comeback, which then led to a World Series title.
"It's been done before," Tkachuk said after losing Game 3.
Tkachuk and the Senators now attempt to be the fifth team in NHL history to complete the 0-3 series comeback starting tonight in Game 4 against the Maple Leafs.